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TOYING AROUND: The Post Thanksgiving Post

Hopefully all you collectible fans had a hearty Thanksgiving and survived whatever amount of Black Friday shopping madness you decided to subject yourself to. Instead of braving the crowds and elements for deals, we here at TOYING AROUND combed the internet for new action figure, statue and prop replica announcements so you’ll know what you want to duke it out for next year. It was a bit of a slow week with the holiday, but that didn’t stop Weta, Underground Toys, Funko, Sideshow and more from showing off their upcoming “Hobbit,” “Doctor Who,” “Game of Thrones” and Marvel products.

THE HOBBIT | With “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” getting closer and closer to its Dec. 13th release date expect to not only see a barrage of advertising, but also a good deal of toy and statue offerings. The collectible arm of Weta, the special effects house that handles all the Middle Earth movies, has a pair of new statues in the works. The 1:6 scale Tauriel piece stands nearly a foot tall and will ship next month. Meanwhile, Radagast the Brown — Gandalf’s fellow wizard with an affection for animals — has an 11.8-inch statue in the works for February of next year.

DOCTOR WHO | To celebrate the 50th anniversary of “Doctor Who,” Underground Toys developed a series of Doctor and Dalek 2-packs spanning all five decades. Each Time Lord comes with an adversary he faced during his time on the legendary series. Meanwhile, if you find yourself overly bummed out about Matt Smith’s impending departure from the series, Underground has a pair of stress relievers that look like the TARDIS and a Weeping Angel. Finally, the Adipose Science Putty pack allows you to build anything you want with these puffy aliens which will hold shape for a while before returning to their marshmallow like forms ready for more play.

GAME OF THRONES | Dark Horse Deluxe unveiled the next piece in their “Game of Thrones” statue line. The company teamed up with Gentle Giant to create an 11-inch statue of Arya Stark as portrayed by Maisie Williams in the HBO Series. She stands at the ready with her trust sword Needle on a lead-covered base. Arya ships on June 18.

GAME OF THRONES | While on the subject of everyone’s favorite pay cable fantasy series, Funko debuted a new series of Pop Vinyl figures based on George R.R. Martin’s creation. The third wave includes Brienne of Tarth, Joffrey Baratheon, Hodor, Dragon, Tywin Lannister, Ygritte, Ghost and Tyrion Lannister in Battle Armor all of which will debut on Jan. 14. Meanwhile, Daenerys Targaryen will join her pals a month later on Feb. 18.

THE AVENGERS | Just when you think Hot Toys must have made every figure from “The Avengers” they come out with a surprise offering. This week, they revealed the Mark Ruffalo-based Bruce Banner 1:6 scale figure which comes with glasses and several different hand options. Bruce can be purchased on his own or in a 2-pack with his emerald alter ego. The duo come with a fallen Chitauri soldier base and spare girders for tossing at alien invaders.

BREAKING BAD | Mezco continues to offer variations on a very cool theme with their line of “Breaking Bad” figures. This time around they’re selling a limited-to-500 piece version of Walter White in his gray Vamonos Pest suit as seen in the Season 5 episode, “Hazard Pay.” Like his predecessors, this toy of Walter comes with a 55-gallon drum and three meth-making bottles. Vamonos Walter ships in February.

DEADPOOL | The past few incarnations Marvel’s X-Force have gathered together a group of dangerous X-Men and given them cool new stealthy, black-themed costumes. Collectible makers must love this because it gives them the opportunity to re-paint existing pieces in this new color scheme and have a brand new figure or statue. That’s what Sideshow Collectibles did with this X-Force Deadpool Premium Format Figure statue. Like the red version, Deadpool stands 20 inches tall and comes with a jauntily cocked head. The X-Force variant has differently positioned arms holding a pair of swords and features the X-logo on his chest.

PREDATOR 2 | Remember that scene in “Predator 2” where Danny Glover found himself in the trophy room? That sure was cool. Now thanks to CoolProps and Sideshow Collectibles you can start building your own with this Guardian Predator Mask. The piece recreates the mask worn by the main alien hunter in 1990’s “Predator 2” and can be displayed at a variety of angles thanks to the magnet display system. Order this now and it’ll be at your place in December.

PACIFIC RIM | Last week, NECA showed off their larger scale Kaiju figures from “Pacific Rim” and now they’re talking about which Jaegers will join in on the action figure action next February. We now know that Japan’s Coyote Tango and Russia’s Cherno Alpha made the grade. Each will stand 8 inches tall and sport over 20 points of articulation. Actual shots of the figures have yet to be revealed, so stay tuned to future TOYING AROUND installments for those.